Haslam backs 12-hour cooling off period in domestic violence cases

Gov. Bill Haslam says he supports a 12-hour "cooling off" period in domestic violence cases after a prominent Nashville contractor was arrested twice for assaulting his girlfriend twice in a single day.

Middle Tennessee lawmakers said they plan to introduce a bill next year that would require people arrested for domestic violence to remain in jail at least 12 hours.

The holding time is meant to give victims of domestic violence time to make new arrangements before aggressors are back on the streets.

The statement comes in the midst of a controversy over a Nashville case involving a contractor who was released from jail a few hours after his arrest on a domestic violence charge. Police say he assaulted his girlfriend a second time shortly after being released.